Foreigners examining Colombia often become transfixed by the nature of the violence against civilians. Stories of civilians being hacked to death by machetes, crushed by sledgehammers, or simply summarily executed in front of other community members, dominate impressions toward Colombia. However, as one begins to understand the process of violence in Colombia, one realizes that these murders and massacres are but the prelude to an institutionalized violence which has manifested itself into more than three million internally displaced Colombians. Displacement has existed in Colombia throughout the violence of the 20th century; however, the process has significantly intensified during the tenure of President Uribe, who came to power in 2002. With the help of Plan Colombia funding, Uribe has increased the militarization of Colombia’s countryside in an attempt to eliminate both the Ejercito de Liberation National (ELN) and the Frente Armado Revolutionario Colombiano (FARC), two leftist guerrilla groups that have existed since the mid 1960’s. This has subsequently led to an increase in the activity of the rightwing paramilitaries known under the title of Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). The result for the civilian population caught in the middle has only been an increase in displacement.

In the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla we visited a number of displaced communities. Displaced communities tend to exist on the outskirts of Colombia’s major cities. They also tend to exist on land that is of minimal economic value to larger landholders. The community of Loma Roja, for example, has been built up the side of a hill that used to be a garbage dump. The other two communities we visited, La Central and Candelaria, are located off a main highway running out of Barranquilla, and exist on vacant lots of poor quality soil, surrounded by garbage on the outskirts of the communities. Groups of displaced persons founded these communities by carrying out land invasions. These initial occupations are followed by construction of basic housing out of whatever material is available. The quality of housing tends to improve if the community has existed longer. Structures range from dirt floor ragtag wooden house shacks, to more concrete structures with paved floors. If the government recognizes the community, often there is a degree of help, which can range from offering building material, paving roads, and installing plumbing. Our impression, however, is that once the government issues land titles and helps with the initial construction, assistance terminates. And in fact only in Candelaria has the government actually built housing. Furthermore this type of aid has not been offered in several years and construction of housing for the displaced in Candelaria has been turned over to a private contractor who charges the displaced.

To understand the problems currently facing the displaced, however, the reasons why they have become displaced must be understood. The displaced vastly come from the countryside, usually being termed campesinos. They tend to be traditionally minded small farmers who historically have survived by raising their own food. Unfortunately, however, the fields and hills of the campesinos are also the battle grounds of military, paramilitaries, and guerrillas. Often campesinos are forced to flee their land if one of the armed groups enters their vicinity, accusing the inhabitants of cooperating with the other side. Northern Colombia has traditionally been considered the stronghold of the paramilitaries, and in fact the displaced we talked to cite the paramilitaries as being responsible for displacing them. Traditionally the paramilitaries have been tied to large landholders and businessmen, and in many cases displacement has had nothing to do with guerilla activity in the area. Rather the paramilitaries use the pretext of guerrilla activity in the area as a cover to steal land. Once the land is vacated, the land can end up in the hands of paramilitaries, large landowners looking to expand their holdings, or even transnationals looking to either exploit the land for minerals or grow some form of cash crop, or any combination of the above. The process is made easier if the fleeing campesinos, recognizing that they will most likely never be able to return to their land, willingly sell their land at much deflated prices in the hopes of having something to survive on while fleeing. If fleeing campesinos retain their land titles, however, under new laws the Colombian government can still legally seize the land if it remains unoccupied for five years and resell it or redistribute it in however the government sees fit. And in fact some of this land is being redistributed to paramilitaries who have demobilized. Regardless of what happens to their land, however, campesinos are still left landless.

The story of Josephine, a widowed campesina we met in La Central illustrates the whole process of this land theft. She, her husband, and children lived on their farm for many years in the Magdalena region of Northern Colombia. Three years ago they were well off enough to travel to Bogota to visit relatives. Upon returning they found their farm occupied by paramilitaries. The paramilitaries demanded that Josephine and her family turn over their land titles. Upon refusal, Josephine’s husband was murdered in front of the family. Josephine and her children then fled, feeling any one of them could be murdered next. Displacement at the hands of the paramilitaries usually follows a similar pattern. If the campesinos do not leave their land after an initial threat, a family member, community leader, or even multiple people are murdered until the rest of the community flees. In the words of Carlos, a campesino from La Central, they were told ¨Se van or se mueren¨ (¨Leave or die.¨). These threats result in large numbers of traumatized small farmers fleeing to large cities, often with little or no money.

The conditions these fleeing campesinos face when they reach the cities are predictable. Most are forced into shantytowns where neighbors unwelcoming. Food and clean water are often hard to come by and work is usually highly exploitative or simply not available. Schooling is not free, and often the costs of enrollment, registration fee, uniform, and books are simply too great a burden on families. As stated earlier, the Colombian government tends to help these communities only initially, if at all. For example Carlos, a campesino of La Central, showed us a government issued document recognizing his displacement. This document is supposed to offer certain benefits such as assisted medical care. However Carlos stated that he had tried going to a number of hospitals for problems with his right leg, but had been continually turned away. Another problem is the issue of water, gas, and electricity. Even if the government helps initially to install plumbing and lines for these services, often the displaced arrive without the means to pay for these privatized services. The result is these services are cut when households do not have the money to pay.

The water situation is perhaps the gravest problem facing the displaced communities. Houses we visited tended to overwhelmingly lack the plumbing necessary for running water. Furthermore the de facto water system for the vast majority of households in Candelaria and La Central revolved around one water distribution center on the main highway. All day and everyday poor people with horse-pulled carts wait in long lines to fill up around 30, 5-gallon plastic jugs at a time. After paying an initial fee, these distributors then sell the jugs to the surrounding displaced communities, surviving on the slim margin of profit. Each jug costs around 200 to 250 pesos (10 to 12 cents). Households tend to spend daily around 1000 pesos (a little less than 50 cents) on these jugs. This does not sound like much, but spending 1000 pesos daily adds up to a onerous burden for these cash strapped households. We found it shameful that vast sectors of poor people must rely on this system for survival. We were further dismayed to learn later that the government did not willingly construct the one distribution center. Instead a roadblock protest a couple years back by a coalition of church groups and displaced persons blocked traffic on the main highway. Only after this protest was the government finally compelled to construct at least one distribution center. In fact, many people we met also mentioned that often the only time the water issue is addressed is close to election time. Conniving political parties often promise to improve the water situation in exchange for support. However, the communities are growing tired of the years of unfilled promises. The struggle for something as basic as water is illustrative of the struggles the displaced face in obtaining any form of sustained support by the Colombian government.

Perhaps the saddest element of this lack of help is in the area of education. Even public education is not free in Colombia and like every other necessary service, the displaced must pay. This is troublesome for many displaced parents because as one man, Armando of Candelaria stated, ¨Education is the most important thing. ¨ Schooling in the displaced communities, however, is lacking funds in all areas. The grade school of Candelaria, for example, is a simple structure, similar to an open barn, with grades preschool through 5th all taught under its roof in crammed classrooms. Desks are old and worn out, and supplies such as pencils and notebooks are in short supply. There are 300 students whose parents each pay 70,000 pesos annually (or about $35). This small amount, however, often is a great burden to the families, and is usually paid in installments. Unfortunately, as well, most parents can simply not afford to pay for higher levels of education beyond 5th grade. For example a nearby private school offering schooling beyond 5th grade has an 80,000 peso registration fee, as well as a 30,000 peso monthly fee. The result is that many children simply end up entering the informal economy after 5th grade or earlier, performing jobs such as selling the water jugs described earlier or worse. Unfortunately there is a big problem with child prostitution in Barranquilla; however, sometimes this is a desperate option for households without any means of survival. Other youth end up falling into drug addiction. Armando especially talked of both the financial and emotional burden this puts on parents. Drug addicted kids will often steal from cash strapped parents. Indeed without access to sufficient education displaced children’s futures are bleak.

To understand why displaced households on the whole are in such dire financial states, one must understand the position at which they enter the urban labor market. As stated earlier, these people often flee to the cities, traumatized, with little or no cash, not understanding urban lifestyle. The result is that if households can find any outside work, it is at a severe disadvantage, often accepting the hardest work with the lowest pay. The story of Juan Carlos, a teenager we talked to in Loma Roja, described a construction job he had acquired but later quit. The job paid 14,000 pesos a day (about $6) for 10 hours of work. However, bus transportation to the job cost him 4,000 pesos a day, and lunches another 4,000 pesos a day, leaving him on average with 6,000 pesos a day (or about $3). This helped his family survive, but not much else. Another problem facing displaced people is the whims of employers to pay back wages. For example, some displaced in Candelaria had found work with the privately owned construction company building houses in Candelaria. However, we were informed that it was not uncommon for workers to have to wait a month to get paid. We even heard of workers having to wait up to four months at times. Furthermore this work is not consistent. Couple this with the fact that there exists no viable legal means for workers to demand pay, and the reasons why parents often struggle to pay school fees can be understood. A similar problem as well is that displaced women tend to be able to find work as housemaids or other similar lines of work in the cities, whereas displaced men have a much greater difficulty finding work. While in one sense this can be considered promotion of gender equality, the manner in which this equality emerges is troubling. Men who are used to being the primary breadwinners are not comfortable giving up this position to women.

Unfortunately this can lead to some men needing to prove their manhood in harmful ways, such as excessive drinking and womanizing. On the whole, the work situation for the displaced is one of disadvantage, often forcing them into any means of survival, straining the bonds of households.

Beyond any one of these specific issues however, displacement must be understood as a type of cultural assassination against the displaced. We continually heard statements like that of Umberto of Loma Rosa, that ¨We can not live here, we are of the land, here if you do not have money, you do not have power.¨ Roberto of La Central issued a similar sentiment by stating ¨We are of the countryside, we know the countryside, we do not know the city.¨ Furthermore, the general sentiment is that the displaced feel that life in the countryside was not perfect but none-the-less did provide everything needed to live happily. In the cities they have lost the ability to provide for themselves in the traditional ways. Images of Native Americans being reduced to reservations in 19th century America come to mind. Certainly 21st century Colombia is different in many respects; however, both situations can be understood as processes of liquidation of both traditional means of living and culture.

Finally, the influence of Plan Colombia on this process of displacement cannot be ignored. Since Plan Colombia’s initiation in 2000 by the United States, the number of displaced has simply increased. The communities we talked to uniformly felt Plan Colombia was only benefiting Colombia’s wealthy while increasing the violence against the displaced. While we did encounter limited international aid (for instance in Candelaria monthly stipends of USAID and World Hunger Organization food such as rice and powder milk are issued to families of students) this support is not remotely sufficient. Furthermore, so long as the Colombian military is heavily supported by Plan Colombia, humanitarian aid can only be understood as piecemeal efforts that will never be sufficient for the ever increasing displaced population. Certainly the U.S. government has to know that its funding is only increasing displacement.

The ties between the military and paramilitaries, as well as the impunity this relationship generates cannot be denied. The situation is well documented, most notably by Human Rights Watch, who refers to the paramilitaries as ¨The Sixth Division¨ of the five- division Colombian military. Simply put, the paramilitaries would not be able to carry out acts of displacements nearly as widely without the acquiescence and de facto support of the Colombian military, which is aided and trained by the United States military. For the U.S. government to continue funding the Colombian military through Plan Colombia, as was approved by the Congress in 2005, is criminal because displacement is all but assured to continue. The connection of Plan Colombia to displacement is obvious; the displaced can easily recognize it, and so should we.

Displacement is really an issue of the significance of land. To strip campesinos of their land is to strip them of their wellbeing, their culture, and their dignity. They in a sense become paupers who struggle to find identity in unfamiliar and unwelcoming cities. Humanitarian aid therefore faces an unbelievable task in helping create identity in the displaced communities. Many, however, long to be able to return some form of their previous life. Therefore any long term solution must address this issue of land. However prospects are bleak so long as any Colombian who vocally raises these issues faces assassination. Therefore, we of the United States have an obligation to speak on behalf of those who want and need to have their story heard. In our opinion, the first solution to displacement is to stop supporting further violence and displacement as is being done through the military support of Plan Colombia. Secondly, massive and genuine reparations in forms such as education, water, and land are needed. While these tasks seem daunting, we cannot envision any other viable alternative. But we must remember too that the displaced do not want pity, rather they want our help in ending this humanitarian nightmare. In the words of Carlos of La Central ¨We need the money (for aid) sure, but more than anything we need a social change.¨

Matt Mittelstadt and Erik Mason are currently visiting with churches in Northern Colombia on behalf of The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. All names have been changed to protect the displaced. For better documentation of both the displacement and the links between the Colombian military and paramilitaries, see the Human Rights Watch links below:
Colombia: Displaced and Discarded, The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons http://hrw.org/reports/2005/colombia1005/
The ‘Sixth Division’Military-paramilitary Ties and U.S. Policy in Colombia http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/colombia/

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